All posts tagged Jan Hommen

Jan Hommen, the chief executive of Dutch bank ING likes to put up smoke screens. Even though his term will soon expire, investors and analysts are still in the dark about his role in the company’s future. “It’s not up to me. It doesn’t really matter what I want,” he told reporters on Wednesday during the presentation of ING’s latest results.

Some analysts say his departure is imminent. Mr. Hommen will turn 70 this year, making him one of the oldest CEOs of a big European bank. His term will come to an end at the next annual meeting in May and it is widely expected he won’t seek a reappointment. In recent interviews, he has signaled he wants to spend more time with his children and grandchildren.

Investors might be disappointed by his departure. “ING’s share price might initially react negatively to the retirement of Mr. Hommen, as he is highly regarded by the investment community for sailing ING through multiple crises,” analysts at ABN Amro said.

AMSTERDAM: Banking group ING Thursday said it will scrap 2,700 jobs at its retail bank in the Netherlands, making it the third big Dutch lender after Rabobank and ABN Amro Bank to announce major layoffs.

In total, the the Big Three (as they are known over here) are planning over 6,000 job-cuts in the coming years. That may be less impressive than the layoffs seen at banks in the U.K. and Switzerland. But that’s also because Dutch banks have become much smaller in the past years (some bankers say, more boring).

Analysts said the restructuring–which the company announced together with a €1.69 billion quarterly net profit–didn’t come as a surprise, even as the financial giant had already cut 7,000 jobs as part of a revamp in 2009. ING, which was bailed out twice by the Dutch government during the financial crisis, wants to make itself attractive as a standalone bank, after it divested its insurance business.

Barclays Capital recently said ING Bank has a solid capital position but noted that its growth profile is rather boring.

ING, the bailed-out Dutch bank, Tuesday bowed to political pressure with its chief executive forgoing a bonus that many said was well-deserved.

Jan Hommen said he will waive his €1.25 million bonus for 2010 and decline a 2% pay rise he was promised for 2011.

He also said he won’t get a bonus until ING has fully repaid state funds, which the company aims to do by May 2012.

“I hope this shows that we take criticism on ING seriously and that we are willing to act accordingly,” he wrote in a letter in daily newspaper De Volkskrant. The letter was the climax of a debate that erupted last week when ING’s annual report showed that Mr. Hommen was in line to pocket a bonus for the first time since the financial crisis.